news A Lake Park woman was seriously injured Monday afternoon by a protective mother cow after taking some children to see its calf.
Mindi Mikkelsen, of the 2000 block of Second Street, Lake Park, suffered seven broken ribs on her right side and a laceration to her liver, according to her husband, Jason...
Detroit Lakes, 56501

Detroit Lakes Minnesota 511 Washington Avenue 56501

2013-03-04 21:10:42

A Lake Park woman was seriously injured Monday afternoon by a protective mother cow after taking some children to see its calf.

Mindi Mikkelsen, of the 2000 block of Second Street, Lake Park, suffered seven broken ribs on her right side and a laceration to her liver, according to her husband, Jason Mikkelson.

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Mikkelsen was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to MeritCare hospital in Fargo, where she is still hospitalized.

Mikkelsen, who runs a daycare service, was planning to show four or five of the children in her care a calf, which the mother cow "didn't care for," Jason Mikkelsen said.

He said his wife was thrown by the cow, butting Mikkelsen with it's head, pinching her between the cow and a fence.

"I was just coming home and the kids were screaming at the cow, and our oldest son yelled, 'Get up and get out of there,' and she got up and got over the six foot fence, which is amazing in itself, and she laid back down when she got over the fence, and I immediately called 911," Jason Mikkelsen explained.

Their two sons, aged 12 and 8, were both present and helped deter the cow, one with a broom.

"They're both heroes in my book," Jason Mikkelsen said.

He said he also immediately called the parents of the children present.

"Mindi's families are very good people, very understanding," he said. "They were all asking what they could do, but I just said come as fast as you can because obviously we wanted to get to Fargo to be with her."

The Mikkelsoes have six cows, and are planning to sell the cow related to the incident, Jason Mikkelsen said.

"We don't have many, they're mostly for 4-H projects and such, but apparently this one was having a bad day," he said.

As for his wife's injuries, he said they're counting their blessings that it wasn't worse.

"She's very lucky, in my opinion. It could have been a lot worse," he said. "She's very lucky that it wasn't to do with her spine or her head."

The incident was reported at 2:43 p.m. Monday. Lake Park Rescue, Lake Park police, and St. Mary's EMS were among those that responded to the scene.